PM consults Boris Johnson on Iran shipping

Scott Morrison has spoken to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about joining the UK and US to protect commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf.

Australia is weighing up involvement in an international effort in the Strait of Hormuz after the UK joined the US-led mission earlier in the week.

Mr Morrison said there had been a "very disturbing" series of events in the waterway, where Iran has seized foreign oil tankers, including a British-flagged vessel, in recent weeks.

"I spoke to Boris Johnson last night and indicated to him that we were looking very carefully at our participation in this initiative, which we would see as an international initiative," he told reporters in Townsville on Thursday.

The prime minister insists securing safe shipping in the region is a separate issue to tensions between Iran and the US over nuclear agreements.

"This is about safe shipping lanes and ensuring that we can restore at least some stability to what is a very unstable part of the world at the moment," Mr Morrison said.

"We've engaged with both the US and the UK in understanding what role Australia could play here."